With Tuesday's tragic passing of actor and writer Carrie Fisher came a major question from fans of the Star Wars series: what will happen to the ongoing trilogy films, which (so far) feature both the original trilogy characters of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo?

Reports from Variety and Deadline have confirmed that filming of Fisher's performance in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII film wrapped earlier this year, with both articles citing unnamed sources. Deadline's report goes one further by indicating that Leia has a "larger role" in the upcoming film, and while it also mentions Fisher's real-life daughter, Billie Lourd, appearing in Episode VIII, there's no indication of how much screen time Lourd will receive or whether she and Fisher will interact meaningfully in the film. (Lourd appeared ever-so-briefly in The Force Awakens, but she has teased a larger appearance in a future film.)

Further Reading

Seeing as how the Star Wars and Disney teams rarely disclose plot details ahead of time, it should surprise no one that announcements or hints haven't been offered for how either Episode VIII or Episode IX will change in the wake of Fisher's passing or whether dialogue or other important content may have already been pre-recorded by any actors in the case of an emergency. That being said, Fisher had signed on for some kind of role in Episode IX. Does that mean she would have had an active role in the final leg of the new trilogy? It's hard to say; after all, Harrison Ford may very well be returning to Episode VIII, if this casting-call announcement from late 2015 is legitimate. I won't spell out my logic here, in case you avoided my spoiler warning, but with all of that information in mind, Fisher's Episode VIII performance could, er, conclude similarly to how Ford's ended in Episode VII.

Reports mentioned that Fisher had also previously wrapped a one-episode appearance in the third season of the Amazon Video series Catastrophe. Star Wars: Episode VIII is scheduled to debut in theaters on December 15, 2017.

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